Chapter 09
“Ah—”
Jed let out a relieved sigh, as if to say, I almost expected too much from a human as wooden as him.
“By the way, you met the princess yesterday, right? If I hadn’t been on my shift, I would’ve gone too… What did she say?”
“What did she say?” Claude mulled over the rough, intense texture of the tablecloth, rubbing his chin.
“Do I seem like a good person?”
“Huh?”
“Answer me. Am I a good person?”
That was a completely absurd question, but Jed responded sincerely.
“You’re just… a great person, sir.”
“I asked if I’m a good person.”
“Well… I don’t think so. No, I’m sure not.”
“Right. It feels bad, but that’s accurate. I’m not a good person. Always haven’t been, and even less so here. But the princess said I was better than she expected.”
“Ehh?”
“Meaning, she wants us to help each other and get along.”
“Are you serious?”
“She was precise in speech like a sparrow, even insisting she was sane. She even called me by name, and just like that, she’d already won the little victory of claiming where she lives.”
“Why did you just let her get away with that?!”
Let her? Yeah, that’s the right word. He was utterly powerless.
She asked questions, he answered, he tried to cheer her when she looked gloomy—though it was partly his fault—and even wiped her wet clothes as instructed.
She was surprisingly difficult to deal with. Not just formidable, but different in kind.
“She didn’t avoid me at all, not even a hint of fear. And I’m a stranger, the supreme commander of an enemy nation.”
“How can you tell if she was afraid or not? Maybe she was just pretending to be composed.”
“No, she genuinely had confidence. Absolute confidence. The kind that can beat anyone in front of her if she wants to.”
At the time, he didn’t consciously notice it, but perhaps he had been secretly thrown off by the princess’s attitude. Usually, people are intimidated by the sheer presence he exudes.
“I need a clear analysis of her—where she’s been and what she’s done.”
Jed thought Claude was overreacting.
“Do we really need to be so sensitive? What can the princess do right now? It’s better to control the wizards who are likely to make a fuss unnecessarily.”
“No, focus all available forces on that princess.”
She wasn’t just unusual—she was extraordinary. And when faced with such a feeling, it was wise to act cautiously.
“Our current strength can’t afford to lose, even if we wanted to.”
“We’ve never truly fought wizards. We don’t know how strong they are.”
A people born with innate magic were always a fearsome presence to an empire full of ordinary humans.
Dark entities, minions of demons… Their notorious reputation spread endlessly within the empire. Only by blaming them in such ways could people endure.
And now you want to overturn that in a single day?
A few years ago, he could calm crying children at the threat of a wizard coming to devour them. Now, wizards were like beasts with broken claws—nothing to worry about, apparently.
Thinking of knights like that or his ambitious aunt made Claude laugh in disbelief.
If you want to conquer someone else’s land, at least respect your opponent. How can they think this lightly?
His instincts warned that wizards would not be easy.
And the returning princess—she would be no different.
“Anyway, we planted our flag first.”
“That would matter if there were no rightful owner. But she’s back. Everyone assumed she was dead, but she’s alive. She has an unknowable character and even more unpredictable power. You just know it when you see it.”
So, what comes next is obvious.
By normal procedure, the princess will naturally demand her property back—sovereignty, taxes, administrative authority, military command. It’s all hers, and rightly so.
“That’s impossible! The regency was delegated to the commander!”
“Really, Jed… Even the emperor has no right to interfere with succession in another country. This isn’t Valoran—it’s Izariss.”
“Come on!”
Who doesn’t know that? But even so, internal politics and land disputes rarely conclude morally, even in noble Valoran.
“Are you really our commander? What country are you from?!”
Claude didn’t answer, leaning on the window and twirling his sword, laughing at the absurdity of his emperor.
“The return of a princess we thought dead wrecks all plans. This is the misfortune brought by the emperor’s greed. He claimed such vast lands, and now he’s punished for it. Truly, the gods are fair.”
This man—audacious, impudent, and utterly disrespectful.
Jed glared, demanding an apology, but Claude dismissed him like a passing dog.
“From now on, I want to know everything about the princess—where she is, what she’s doing, who she’s with. Until I say to stop.”
“But… shouldn’t the emperor come first? Isn’t that more important than the princess?!”
“Why? The princess is the most important. Nothing else matters.”
His straightforward and firm statement left Jed’s eyes sharp as a triangle, full of disbelief.
“Be honest with me.”
“About what?”
“Just… you know.”
“About what?”
“Did you… fall in love at first sight? No, right?”
“What?”
“I mean… You didn’t see the princess and get completely captivated, thinking only of her all day? People say she’s very beautiful… That beautiful?”
How does one connect those dots? Claude exhaled in exasperation.
When did I spend the whole day thinking only of the princess… oh. Huh.
That brief hesitation and expression seemed to trap Jed in a whirlpool of misunderstanding.
“Why can’t you answer? Why?”
He asked, half despairing, half expecting the reply.
“Haah… really, that beautiful?”
“It’s not like that—”
“Sir, I’m truly worried. Love at first sight is dangerous. Poisonous love, even. And she’s an enemy princess. Forbidden love!”
Jed, in a highly excited tone, warned as if cautioning against a bright red apple.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Claude tried to explain further, but another urgent knock interrupted, and a man burst inside.
“Governor! I have a telegram!”
The telegram was marked urgent.
And currently, the only urgent matter Claude had submitted was regarding the princess of Izariss.
He tossed the sword, which he had been toying with like a plaything, onto the desk and gestured.
The sender was a security patrol near the hotel, reporting that a carriage had left the hotel early this morning.
“Are we certain the princess was in it?”
“According to circumstances, yes. The manager personally sent the carriage.”
“Then it’s highly likely.”
He expected a reconnaissance before action, but the princess had acted within twenty-four hours. Meanwhile, they hadn’t prepared anything.
A quick scan confirmed the carriage had crossed the bridge.
If she crossed the bridge from the hotel…
“She’s coming here.”
Why…
“To see me?”
It was a natural thought, given he’d lost the address, and Jed was once again shocked.
The idea that the princess might be seeking him—completely mad!
Luckily, the officer delivering the telegram corrected the misunderstanding.
“I think her destination is probably the wine bar or the teahouse.”
“Wine bar? Teahouse?”
Both were familiar locations, and Claude immediately frowned.
Both were terrible.
First, the wine bar.
A so-called imperial-style salon was, to Claude, just a swarm of people with nothing better to do, asking him to this or that, inviting him to meals, outings, and bothering him constantly.
He despised it and rarely went near such places.
And the teahouse…
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why, I mean. You must have a reason.”
“Oh, that’s because…”
“Just say it. I don’t like either place anyway.”
“Well, I have an idea who owns that carriage. Not someone the commander would like…”
The aide revealed the clue, noting the manager personally oversaw it.
“You know, that chatterbox…”
“Chatterbox… damn it.”
Yes, considering the intersection, it wasn’t an impossible combination.
But if the companion is that level… that’s a problem.
A big problem.
Claude jumped up, grabbed his coat, and dashed out.
“Commander?! What about your meal and sword?!”
Jed lamented, watching the sword and food abandoned.
“Wow, completely smitten at first sight! Didn’t eat, didn’t grab the sword, just ran off!”
“I think I understand why this place is popular.”
The moment Taeri stepped into the wine bar, she said this.
It was the hottest spot in the new city.
Even just past lunchtime, the bar was crowded with people sipping after-lunch drinks.
Well-dressed patrons gathered under luxurious lights, raising their glasses and chatting freely.
“Who are we teasing? Hurry and follow me.”
Bridget, growling with her eyes, grabbed Taeri’s elbow and pushed into a deep corner where the bartender was mixing cocktails.
Occasionally, someone glanced their way, but thanks to the disguise and beret, no one suspected that she was the princess.
